


We're only here to help Alexander

by Nesmiths (orphan_account)



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Bones is 39, F/M, M/M, Pavel and Bones are both adulty adults, Pavel is 32, what the fuck is a timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:13:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24157174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Nesmiths
Summary: Before Starfleet Leonard had a family...
Relationships: Jocelyn McCoy/Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Pavel Chekov/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Kudos: 10





	We're only here to help Alexander

Before Starfleet Leonard had a family; a wife and small daughter. They were a typical new family, worrying about baby proofing and germs, and probably a lot of little things that didn’t really matter.

The two weren’t really ready for a baby, with Leonard up to his ass in work and Jocelyn’s college classes, but they made it work. Jocelyn opted to drop out of college until Johanna was older so Leonard could keep up with his work in pediatrics.

Everything was going well all up until the loss of their daughter.

The doctors said SIDS, but Leonard knows that’s a fancy way of saying "I don't know." It’s news he’s had to give before. That much he knows. And it makes him sick because he’s never had to feel the other side of it. There’s not enough empathy in the world that could make you feel loss. Every single “I’m sorry,” he’s ever uttered to grieving parents could have never prepared him for this.

At just over a year old little Johanna was gone from their lives.

His wife, Jocelyn became a shell of her former self. 

She stopped sleeping.

She stopped eating.

She even stopped speaking, until she did again weeks later.

Then, she blamed him.

Nobody said the word ‘divorce’, but it was silently agreed upon that night with the two of them choosing to sleep elsewhere. Leonard chose the bathroom floor and Jocelyn opted for the couch. 

The words were still etched into his memory “You killed my baby,” the following week when Jocelyn tossed a manilla envelope into his lap. She hadn’t even told him what it was, but he knew.

And by now, Jocelyn Mccoy, his ex wife, was back to being Jocelyn Leland, the stranger he left on earth with his house and everything else he’d once owned.

...but that was two years ago. 

Leonard has since taken up Pediatrics on the starship Enterprise. He’s good at his job, or at least that's what the Captain tells him. He personally feels awkward around kids now, but he deals with it.

This is his home now.

He doesn’t think about Jocelyn anymore.

It’s Johanna that seems to be on his mind when he’s not busy, but that’s healthy, right? He still feels the pain and over time it has gotten easier to cope. Despite this, Leonard doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to have the same life with another being.

He’s not quite sure if he can cope with that part; being alone.

As of today, Leonard, the doctor, was too busy to reflect on himself; Between chasing the Captain around his office with a hypo earlier, which was starting to get old real fast, and the kid with a rare virus currently sitting on a medical table. 

“Your old primary care doctor was Dr. Bashir, right? Deep space nine is pretty far out there, by at least a month. What brings you out here?” The doctor expected the usual gifted cadet story, or maybe “My parents got promoted”. 

What he didn’t prepare himself for was, “My mother died last week and my father thought a transfer would be best for the both of us.” The young boy coughed. “Dad says it's the Quazulu virus, I got it from her.”

Leonard let out a breath. “Hey kid, I’m sorry. If it means anything, I’ve got an 100% success rate on this tin can. You’re going to be fine.” He looked back down at this kid’s file. “It mutates once every twenty minutes and I was born with it. If he could, my dad would roll me here in bubble-wrap. I’m fragile, I know that.” He seemed to have already accepted his fate. The maturity of this kid shook the doctor. The damn kid hasn’t even finished grade school he shouldn’t have to face death head-on.

“Chekov, Alexander.” The doctor read his name. “Age 9, diagnosed with a genetic strand of Quazulu virus… Dr. Bashir’s notes are pretty optimistic that this can be treated, although we’ve yet to find a cure.” Leonard set the file down in favor of his scanner. “I’m just gonna scan your lungs and see if there’s been any improvement, alright?”

Alexander looked dejected as he lifted his shirt for the scanner. “Whatever…”

Leonard pressed a few buttons on the scanner, watching a screen as he placed it over the boy’s ribs. “Your lungs are stable for now, but I’d like to talk to your father as soon as possible. You might be seeing a lot of me to make sure those lungs stay stable.”

“He’s been working a lot since we got here. That’s probably not going to happen.” He straightened out his shirt. He looked at the doctor as he stood up. “Can I go?”

“What’s your father’s name, son?”

“He won’t come, he’s busy.” The child said, annoyed. “Why do you insist on bothering him?” 

“I understand that everything is overwhelming right now, but it is important that he finds time to come see me. You’re important, Alexander. And I’m sure your dad knows that.”

“...Pavel Chekov, Engineering. Now, can I go?”

Leonard, padd now in hand, nodded at the boy. “You’re free to go.” As Alexander left he made his way back to his desk. “This is the ship's pediatrics doctor, Mccoy here, I’m looking for a Pavel Chekov.”

“Chekov here, Mccoy was it?” A voice with a strong Russian accent came through the com. 

“Yes, Mr. Chekov I need you to report to the medbay at your earliest convenience. It’s about your son’s treatment.”

“Of course, I will be right down. Chekov out,” The com pinged to signal the end of the call.

The doctor turned his attention back to his padd, a little surprised by Chekov’s willingness to drop work and come down to his office. The kid made it seem like he was being ignored. 

Alexander’s file was lit up on the screen. He looked it over searching out information on prior treatments; all the things that worked or didn’t. Did the kid have any allergies? Was it possible that this would mutate to be contagious again, or was it ever contagious in his case?

Could he eventually find a way to completely stop the cell degeneration that's slowly eroding this kids lungs? Right now, all he could do was slow it down a little more to help extend his life maybe a few more years. The kid might live to see twenty if he’s lucky, but Leonard wouldn’t tell him that. 

It didn’t take too long for a wide-eyed, panic struck man to jog through the doors. 

“This ought to be Pavel,” Leonard thought, lifting his gaze from his padd. “Pavel Chekov?”

“Um, yes. Is he doing alright? Julian never pulled me from work before, what’s wrong?” The man wiped some leftover soot from his face with his sleeve. Something must’ve exploded or backfired in engineering as Pavel’s uniform was far from clean.

“Take a seat,” The doctor folded his hands together. “I assume you’re aware of the full nature of your son’s condition, Quazulu virus..”

“Yes, of course.” Pavel sat across from the doctor, taking a breath as he did so. “His lungs are degenerating on a cellular level…at least that is what Doctor Bashir said.”

“The good news is, it's happening at a snail's pace so we’ve got time to work on that cure, but in the meantime, I’d like to keep him here for observation. This virus mutates once every twenty minutes and that could mean anything from a runny nose to organ failure.” He tried to keep his voice as soft as possible, none of this was easy to explain.

“..organ failure?” Pavel met his eyes, looking at him as if he were nuts. “Oh no, you’re going to do something about that you can’t let that ha-”

“I’m going to do everything in my power to help your son, but I need him here in observation.” Leonard gently interrupted him. “We’re going to find a cure…”

Pavel blinked back his tears; determined not to break down in this medbay. “He’s all I have left.”

“Tomorrow morning, I want you both in my office. I’m going to do another check-up on Alexander’s lungs before I run some tests.”

The man nodded, staying silent, if he spoke he knew he’d cry.

“..and I’m going to request a medical leave for you so you can be here for your son. It’s obvious you’re overworking yourself.”

“Thank you,” Pavel said as he stood. “..Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Leonard called after him. As soon as the medbay doors slid shut he began writing out a message to the captain stating that he’d barred Pavel Chekov of engineering from his duties until further notice. Barely a minute passed before he’d received a message from the captain saying “I trust that this is in Mr. Chekov’s best interest, but I would appreciate you asking me first.”

Bones rolled his eyes at the screen, turning off his padd for the day. He’s been here long enough where he knows Kirk trusts him, but that doesn't stop him from flaunting his rank. At the very least it doesn’t interfere with his own duties.


End file.
